St. Benedict and the Wood-Chopping Way

My younger
brother Daryl was living with me in the parish when, one day, I came home a bit
exasperated from trying to help an old woman named Gertrude. She was neurotic
and overanxious about life. My brother listened to my grumbles and said, “What
Gerty needs is wood-chopping therapy.”

“What’s that?” I asked.

“Well, I went out to chop some wood
this afternoon, and I was angry and frustrated about some stuff, and when I was
done chopping wood, I wasn’t angry and frustrated anymore. I reckon it did me
some good.”

He had a point, and St. Benedict
understood it well. Benedict very wisely established three aspects to the
monastic life, and traditional Benedictine monks still follow his advice. The
monk divides his time between three pursuits — work, reading and prayer — and
Benedict is clear that the work should take the form of physical labor.

St. Benedict understood what Daryl
called wood-chopping therapy. He understood that physical labor often helps to
clear our mind, direct our attention and facilitate our prayer. Washing the
dishes, digging the vegetable garden, feeding the roses, chopping wood,
scrubbing the floor — all these ordinary things take on a spiritual function
when they are seen as part of a whole spiritual life. In this way, work is
sanctified.

As the poet George Herbert wrote,
“Who sweeps a room as for His cause makes that and the action fine.”

Benedict’s rule balances physical
work with prayer and reading. For Benedict, prayer was essentially the
liturgical prayer of the Divine Office. The monks go into church seven times a
day to sing the Psalms, pray for the world and worship the Lord. The word liturgy
actually means “work of the laity,” so their observance of the
liturgical life was also part of their work. In this way, their prayer was their work,
and because they are encouraged to pray while they work, their work becomes
prayer.

This
integrated life — in which prayer is work and work is prayer — is completed by
the third aspect: reading or study. In a time when books were scarce, the monks
in St. Benedict’s day would have spent their reading time memorizing not only
all of the Psalms, but also great portions of other Scripture and selections
from the great spiritual writers.

This
threefold balance of work, prayer and reading is a practical approach to a
balanced life, but it also has a deeper significance. The three aspects of the
Benedictine life reflect the three parts of the human person. Work ministers to
our bodies. Prayer ministers to our souls. Reading ministers to our minds. Only
when we have a balance of all three will we be able to develop as completely
well-rounded human persons.

The
threefold balance of Benedict helps us address our imbalance. Therefore, the
individual who focuses only on the physical aspect of life is missing part of
his development. The intellectual is incomplete if he ignores the physical and
spiritual, and the person who is focused on nothing but prayer is also lacking
in a development of the whole person.

If
we want to observe the wisdom of St. Benedict, we will examine our own lives
and try to make up for what is lacking, and the way to do that is to bring to
mind which one of these three we find most difficult or unpleasant. If we find
reading and study to be a bore, unfortunately, that’s where we need to do some
work. If physical work is not to our liking, then we need to engage in some
“wood-chopping therapy.” If we find prayer difficult, then prayer is what we
need to spend more time on.

The
final result of this threefold balance is that the whole person is being
renewed. This is the final aim of the Christian life, as St. Paul writes to the
Ephesians, to “grow up into the full manhood of Jesus Christ.” The final goal
is to be transformed into the image of Christ — to become a living icon of the
incarnate Lord, who was himself a perfectly balanced harmony of body, mind and
spirit.

St.
Benedict’s rule is deceptive in its simplicity. While it calls for the monks to
engage in work, prayer and reading, all the time Benedict has his eyes on this
higher goal. The entire activity in the monastery is not an end in itself, but
a means to an end. St. Benedict says the monastery is “a school for the Lord’s
service.” In other words, it is the environment in which souls can be
sanctified.

How
might we apply this same wisdom to our lives outside the monastery? As a
husband and father — yes, you heard right; I am a convert to the Catholic faith
from the Anglican priesthood — it is part of my responsibility to catch this
threefold vision for my family, the domestic church. I need to make sure my
children are engaged in the work that is required around the home. Suddenly,
the kitchen duties, keeping their bedrooms clean, helping around the house,
mowing the lawn and raking leaves all have a deeper significance.

Similarly,
study or reading is important. In the modern world, this might include more
than just book knowledge. It includes watching good films together, going to
the theater to see good plays and opera, and helping the children read a whole
range of uplifting, inspiring and challenging literature.

Finally,
I must be actively involved in encouraging the family to pray on a regular
basis. Seven times a day for liturgical prayer is not possible, but maintaining
the discipline of grace before meals and prayer at the beginning and end of the
day all help to continue the tradition of prayer as one of the aspects of the
threefold balance.

As
we develop the threefold balance, we will move to that place where, St.
Benedict says, “We do all these things which were once duties because they are
now our desire.” When we get to that point, we will “run in the path of God’s
commandments, our hearts overflowing with an inexpressible delight of love.”

Comments

Works great when someone dumps you. Tree got struck by lightening, GF dumped me; so I chopped that tree up until it was in little pieces. Felt way better after.

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